Old Delhi

Its a strange thing travelling on your own. I'm trying to imagine how it might compare to travelling in a group and what I would be doing differently, if anything at all. One of the main differences I think is 'the head voice'. I keep company with my head voice for a lot of the day. That aside, I met someone for lunch today and I'm having supper with a group of people tonight; but, as I am essentially alone, the head voice does quite a lot of narrating.

So, I'm going to begin this blog with my head voice today, because today I visited Old Delhi. Old Delhi is the medieval part of the city so gone are the long wide avenues and instead picture tiny market streets, chock-a-block roads and tiny shops piled one on top of the other. My head voice was therefore pretty active this afternoon, not least because I had to navigate my way around this maze and through the throngs of people.

"Walking out of station, good, ok, right exit. Follow the sign for the exit....the signs have stopped. Useful. Ok go on vague sense of direction. Yep good, I'm out...

and I'm walking, I'm still walking stuck in a  crowd. Tag along behind the only woman I can see for a good few hundred yards. Why so many men? Why are so many men shopping?...Still walking, can't stop. Need to read map (discreetly, so I'm not blatantly any more touristy than the billboard on my head (my hair) suggests), but can't stop. Tiny tiny lane. Woah, step over whatever that is. Completely new sour smell sting in nose. And walk through the rows of people begging. Why do the men have weighing scales? Might I want to stop a weigh myself. Hold on everyone whilst I stop to weigh myself in the busy busy street. No way. There must be another reason for the scales. Hm, man has no toes and an open wound. Infected. Don't stare. And the woman seems to be just a torso.

 Woops, don't fall over the tiny kid, holding a baby. Ah, guidebook says ignore them. Ignore. Still pushed along, still creepily close to too many staring men. Walk with PURPOSE. Oh yeah I know where I'm going, don't you offer me your rickshaws I KNOW where I'm going ( I do not know where I am going). Woops, mind the horse. Of course, A horse.  There's a horse on the pavement. And a motorbike. 

Ok main road, turn RIGHT. Good, past a shell of a building full of rubbish and men sitting round campfires. Women outside with sheet spread full of spices. Loads of food stalls. Wow nibbling on the street is a thing here. OK too many people, too many cars. Erm cross over. Nice looking empty island between roads. Good place to read a map? OH GOD (literally) its a shrine. I'm standing by/ on a shrine. Women have come to pray and have taken off their shoes where I'm standing WITH my shoes on. But its also a ROUNDABOUT (?!) so I can't move because man sweeping the shrine is sweeping me towards the traffic. OK, hop OVER the shrine and over the road. Yes, hello rickshaw man, I'm back no still don't want tour... ok and keep walking. 

First monkey. There's a monkey on the roof. Its chilling. Nice place to chill. What a view. On the mosque. Woah, back to street level where am I going?"

That was the basic theme of my head thoughts today. Old Delhi was completely different to central New Delhi and I could curse these travel books that simply describe such street carnage as 'lively bustle'. Whoever writes those books has probably been having long chats with my spiritual American friend. But that is what makes India interesting. Forget museums, just looking at the streets and the way they are organised is enough. So I will have to go back there tomorrow with a bit more time I think. At least I'll be prepared.

Otherwise had a chilled morning, and had lunch with someone I know in Delhi. Sat, again shamefully, in an English style cafe drinking coffee and eating panini. Was on the terrace above Kahn market and sun perfectly warm. Felt like a summer day in England. Except for the continual honking of car horns...Oh and I broke three of the tourist guidebook rules today:

1) I forgot to wash my hands after the metro and before eating. 

2) I accidentally ate something leafy (it wasn't salad) in my panini (vegetables can be dirty/ have high water content).

3) AND I accidentally had ice in my diet coke (in India, you should be careful about what water is used to make ice). 

So my friends we shall wait and see if I fall ill or not. I'll keep you updated. Hopefully NOT, given my appalling record for illness so far in 2012.

Off now to supper with this girl and her friends. She is deliberately cooking English food (to the irritation of her Indian friends), and has bought Caramel cheesecake which CLEARLY pleases me.